Sofie captures new worlds for herself and the bank

After leaving school, Sofie decided for a dual study programme in business informatics. “I like the fact that I can combine my professional interest in digitalisation and transformation with practical work and I can earn my own money from the very beginning despite my studying.”

During her dual studies, Sofie gets to know the bank's different technology areas first-hand and deals with various tools and projects, from robots and artificial intelligence, IT infrastructure and application development all the way to process optimisation, blockchain and cryptography. “There is virtually nothing that doesn’t exist at the bank, and the banking business is a real hotspot for technological innovation right now.” Always in focus, of course, is IT security. For the IHK final examination for IT specialists (which is part of the training-integrated course of study) Sofie is developing an application that aims to improve the access permissions process for the bank’s internal applications.

What does she enjoy most in practice? “I think it's fantastic that I can get such a broad overview and make so many contacts.” The bank's dual students and apprentices are actively involved in projects and day-to-day business from day one – which means that personal initiative is both desirable and sought after. Together with other students within the bank, Sofie turned the idea of organising a hackathon for the current class of vocational trainees into a reality, an initiative that also proved extremely popular with the training team. Almost 80% of the class took part, spending a day tinkering with an idea for online banking and a potential new business idea for the bank. In the wake of this success, there are plans to repeat the event for each new class in future – organised by the apprentices and students themselves, of course!

Sofie comes from a lively Syrian-German family and has already moved house ten times despite her young age. Along the way she has lived in various places around Germany such as Leipzig and Heidelberg. Heidelberg, so open-mindedness and curiosity are almost part of her “standard configuration”. These also applies to the theoretical training at the Frankfurt School. For a UN simulation project, she took the opportunity to spend two weeks mixing with students from around the world in New York and discuss global interrelations in a virtual plenary session. “For me, it’s important to analyse things and get to the heart of them.” And that’s exactly what she does in her own blog, where she regularly reviews specialist publications.

Sofie would love to inspire other young women to pursue careers in IT. Since starting her training, she has been involved with the DB Insiders, a group of apprentices and dual students who regularly share their experiences and give insights into their working environment on Instagram. Her Insta story on the stereotypes surrounding IT specialists has attracted a record number of clicks.

Studying at the bank offers many small milestones, from practical training to a stay abroad all the way to a Bachelor thesis. “For me, this is just the beginning – I think it’s great that my studies and the bank give me the opportunity to experience so many different things and learn more about myself. As for my future journey, I haven't even left the starting blocks yet!”